Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cherry Pie Squares

This is a recipe I've wanted for a long, long time, so I'm really excited to have it now to share with you!

Growing up, one of my friend's moms would make these. It seemed like whenever my family was at their house, these cherry pie bars were part of the gathering.

I asked one of their daughters for the recipe recently after an unsuccessful attempt of trying to locate it. So, here it is for you:

My friend says it was easier for her to double the dough recipe. One for the bottom crust and one for the top. I doubled it, as well, and it fit in my large 13 x 18 inch pan. I knew I wanted the crust thin like I remembered it being.

Single Recipe:

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 cup shortening

2 Tablespoon sugar

1teaspoon salt

1 egg, separated

2/3 cup milk

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter

1 can cherry pie filling

In large bowl, cut shortening into flour. Add salt and sugar. Blend 1 egg yolk in 2/3 cup milk. Roll out 1/2 dough to fit bottom of a 9" x 13" or a 20 1/2" x 15 1/2" pan. (I just pressed the bottom crust into pan). Spread with 1 can of fruit pie filling and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and brush with egg whites. Bake @ 375 for 35 mins. Glaze with powdered sugar icing (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla) Cut into squares!

Dotted with butter...

I rolled out the top crust onto the lid of my pan to get it the right size.

You could also prepare the top crust in your pan that's covered with parchment paper, then remove it, make bottom crust, add filling, then place top crust. I thought after that after the fact!

I turned my lid upside down, tapped it a few times, and the crust fell off onto the pie filling! A little crooked, but I adjusted it a bit.

The finished product! Someone took a little nibble out of a corner. Wonder who did that??? 😊